Definition: wait

Source: WordNet (r) 1.7

wait
     n 1: time during which some action is awaited; "instant replay
          caused too long a delay"; "he ordered a hold in the
          action" [syn: delay, hold, time lag, postponement]
     2: the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while
        expecting something); "the wait was an ordeal for him"
        [syn: waiting]
     v 1: stay in one place and anticipate or expect something; "I had
          to wait on line for an hour to get the tickets"
     2: wait before acting [syn: hold off, hold back]
     3: look forward to the probably occurrence of: "We were
        expecting a visit from our relatives"; "She is looking to
        a promotion"; "he is waiting to be drafted" [syn: expect,
         look, await]
     4: wait on tables; serve as a waiter; in restaurants "I'm
        waiting on tables at Maxim's"

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Wait \Wait\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Waited; p. pr. & vb. n.
   Waiting.] [OE. waiten, OF. waitier, gaitier, to watch,
   attend, F. guetter to watch, to wait for, fr. OHG. wahta a
   guard, watch, G. wacht, from OHG. wahh[=e]n to watch, be
   awake. [root]134. See Wake, v. i.]
   1. To watch; to observe; to take notice. [Obs.]

            ``But [unless] ye wait well and be privy, I wot
            right well, I am but dead,'' quoth she. --Chaucer.

   2. To stay or rest in expectation; to stop or remain
      stationary till the arrival of some person or event; to
      rest in patience; to stay; not to depart.

            All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till
            my change come.                       --Job xiv. 14.

            They also serve who only stand and wait. --Milton.

            Haste, my dear father; 't is no time to wait.
                                                  --Dryden.

Wait \Wait\, n. [OF. waite, guaite, gaite, F. guet watch,
   watching, guard, from OHG. wahta. See Wait, v. i.]
   1. The act of waiting; a delay; a halt.

            There is a wait of three hours at the border Mexican
            town of El Paso.                      --S. B.
                                                  Griffin.

   2. Ambush. ``An enemy in wait.'' --Milton.

   3. One who watches; a watchman. [Obs.]

   4. pl. Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians; not used
      in the singular. [Obs.] --Halliwell.

   5. pl. Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early
      morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical
      watchmen. [Written formerly wayghtes.]

            Hark! are the waits abroad?           --Beau & Fl.

            The sound of the waits, rude as may be their
            minstrelsy, breaks upon the mild watches of a winter
            night with the effect of perfect harmony. --W.
                                                  Irving.

   To lay wait, to prepare an ambuscade.

   To lie in wait. See under 4th Lie.

Wait \Wait\, v. t.
   1. To stay for; to rest or remain stationary in expectation
      of; to await; as, to wait orders.

            Awed with these words, in camps they still abide,
            And wait with longing looks their promised guide.
                                                  --Dryden.

   2. To attend as a consequence; to follow upon; to accompany;
      to await. [Obs.]

   3. To attend on; to accompany; especially, to attend with
      ceremony or respect. [Obs.]

            He chose a thousand horse, the flower of all His
            warlike troops, to wait the funeral.  --Dryden.

            Remorse and heaviness of heart shall wait thee, And
            everlasting anguish be thy portion.   --Rowe.

   4. To cause to wait; to defer; to postpone; -- said of a
      meal; as, to wait dinner. [Colloq.]